


The Exception

by noiproksa



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angelic Possession, Canon Compliant, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Season/Series 14, Self-Made Family, Team Free Will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-09 11:57:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16449494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noiproksa/pseuds/noiproksa
Summary: Dean says ‘yes’ to Cas.No real spoilers for season 14, but inspired by 14x03 and my need for a Dean & Cas hug.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted a scene in which Dean says ‘yes’ to Cas and Cas possesses him, that's it. Of course, I couldn't resist adding some fluff to the mix...

“No way! Look for another sucker!” Claire’s voice yelled over the cell phone and Castiel had to hold it away from his ear. The next second, Claire had hung up on him.

Castiel hadn’t really thought that it was a good idea to ask her for a favor, but he also hadn’t thought she would turn him down quite that articulately either. He had hardly been able to formulate the request when Claire had already started voicing her indignation, rather loudly at that.

“What was that all about?” Dean was standing in the doorway to Castiel’s room, leaning casually against the doorframe. The way Claire had screamed, Castiel assumed that he had gotten an earful, too.

He looked away from Dean’s intense stare and let his eyes drift back to his cell phone, unsure of what to do now. “Claire let me know in no uncertain terms that she would never let me use her as a vessel again,” he explained.

“Huh,” Dean said. “Seems kinda rude, even for her, to call just to tell you that.”

“She did not call me. I called her.” In hindsight that had, of course, been a mistake. But the options for vessels were limited and he really needed access to one.

“Uhm… why?” asked Dean. “Something wrong with your vessel?”

“Yes,” Castiel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Now he had to come up with a different plan all over again.

“Wanna give me some more specifics, maybe?” Dean pressed as he pushed himself off the doorframe and entered the room to sit down on Castiel’s bed, leaning back on his arms and making himself at home.

“Nothing to be concerned about,” Castiel said, but when Dean continued looking at him with raised eyebrows, he elaborated, “It has just been banged up a bit from all the fighting, I assume. An internal diagnosis has not been as efficient as I had hoped. I found myself unable to heal my vessel, so I had planned to do so from the outside. Claire did not agree with the plan.”

Which other humans did he know that were vessels? Sam and Dean, of course. But they had both been burned before and would never say yes to an angel again. Dean didn’t trust angels nor did he like them. He didn’t make a secret of that fact. It was obvious when he got excited about angel-killing bullets or when he outright said something like, “All angels are dicks.” To make matters worse, what little trust Dean had had in angels had been abused amongst other things.

If there were any other way, he would never even consider asking. Dean would say no, anyway. But he had to at least try. He had downplayed the urgency of the matter for Dean’s sake, but with his powers getting weaker, he could not risk possessing a broken vessel. And something inside him _was_ broken, he just could not make out what it was, not while he was stuck in this vessel.

“Cas?” Dean’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

“Yes?” Castiel asked, trying to remember if Dean had said something while he had been debating his next step.

“I asked if there was something I could do?”

_You could say yes to me so that I can use your vessel to heal mine._ Saying that probably would not go over too well, which is why Castiel began, carefully, “Dean, I…” He was not quite sure how to continue the question.

“Yes,” Dean’s reply came instantly without hesitation.

“What I wanted to ask was…” Castiel tried again because he had to make sure he got the whole question out. Thus far, Dean probably didn’t even know what he was getting at.

“Yes,” Dean repeated.

“If I could just…” Castiel made another attempt, but again, Dean interrupted him.

“You want a written invitation or do you want me to say it in Enochian?” Dean asked, getting up and taking a few steps towards him. “Come on. We’re burning daylight here. My vessel is your vessel.” He clapped his hands together, rubbing them in anticipation.

Castiel stared at him, rendered speechless for a moment. “You… are saying… yes?” He summed up what he _thought_ was happening here, but what was clearly some sort of misunderstanding. Miscommunication between angels and humans was not unheard of. Was quite common, in fact, due to their vast cultural differences.

Dean frowned at him. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I thought…” Castiel began and then stopped. He couldn’t believe that, after everything, Dean would allow him to use him as a vessel. After all, he had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want to ever be used as a vessel again. “With Michael… Angelic possession is not your favorite… thing…”

“Well, you’re not gonna just stick around and overstay your welcome like douchebag did, right?” Dean asked cheerfully, as if this was no big deal.

“No, I wouldn’t… Of course not,” Castiel hurried to reassure him. He would never do that to Dean.

“Well then…” Dean spread his arms and repeated yet again, “ _Yes_. You may enter the premises.”

But Castiel just continued staring at him, trying to figure out what was going on. Was this some sort of joke? It would be an inefficient one because now that Dean had said ‘yes’ out loud, Castiel could simply call his bluff at any time and possess him if he so desired.

“Good thinking,” Dean said, snapping his fingers at him, as if Castiel had just suggested something. “Let’s lay your vessel down first.” He motioned towards the bed. “No need letting it fall to the floor the moment you… vacate it.”

When Castiel was still just standing there, motionless, Dean furrowed his brows. “You _were_ going to ask me if you could use me as a vessel… right?”

That’s when Castiel realized that he had never actually spoken the words out loud. Dean had offered all by himself when Castiel had barely managed to string together two or three words at a time. “Yes… I… Yes,” Castiel stammered, still not particularly eloquent.

“Okay. Then what’s the problem?” Dean asked, looking at him intently.

They just stared at each other for a moment. Then Castiel blurted, out, “You hate angels.”

“I… what?” Dean asked, bewildered.

“There is no point denying it,” Castiel informed him. “You hate us. You say so quite frequently.”

Dean had the audacity to huff out a laugh at that. “Yeah, but Cas… I thought it was obvious. – You’re my exception.”

“Your… exception?” Castiel repeated warily.

Dean stepped closer to him to lay a hand on his shoulder, a gesture that Castiel had come to know was meant to offer comfort. An angel, of course, should not care one way or another, but Castiel found that he quite liked the gesture, and so he leaned into the touch slightly. Dean, meanwhile, explained, “You once told me early on that you made an exception for me because I was different. – Well, so are you.”

Of course, Castiel had known that Dean didn’t hate _him_ specifically, but it was still nice to hear he didn’t hold him responsible for his kind.

“What, you thought this ‘profound bond’ thing was one-sided or something?” Dean continued.

Not quite sure how to answer that without Dean teasing him for it, Castiel decided to do as Dean had suggested and laid his vessel down on the bed. He was just about to ask if Dean was sure about it when Dean said, “Yes,” as if he was the one with the power to read minds. Sometimes it definitely seemed like he could tell what Castiel was thinking – but maybe that was just because he knew him too well. All part of ‘this profound bond thing.’

For the first time in years, Castiel left Jimmy’s body, and the next moment he entered Dean’s. The moment of possession was always a bit disorienting. The human consciousness had to make room for the angelic one, and adjusting to the new vessel wasn’t easy. With Dean, there was no disorientation at all. Dean’s soul did not resist the intrusion in the slightest and did not seem to mind sharing the vessel with Castiel. Usually, there was at least a little bit resistance, even if it was just the subconscious desire of the soul to keep control of its vessel.

Not wanting to take advantage of Dean’s hospitality, Castiel quickly began examining Jimmy’s former body. He laid a hand on its head and closed his eyes, using his grace to try and find out what was wrong with the vessel and see if he could heal it. Unfortunately, the same thing happened as when he had run an internal diagnosis on himself: Nothing seemed to be wrong at all. Dean had been so kind, offering up his vessel for Castiel’s use even though he hated angelic possession – and it seemed like all had been in vain. A moment later, Castiel realized that the affliction had traveled with him to Dean’s body. It had not been his vessel at all – the problem was with _him_.

He was just about to leave Dean’s body and return to his own vessel when a voice made him turn around.


	2. Chapter 2

****“Here you are, I’ve been searching for you everywhere,” Sam said. He was looking down at his laptop that he was carrying, but when he looked up, his eyes landed on Jimmy’s body and he furrowed his brows. “What’s going on? Is he okay?”

“…Yes,” Castiel said. He probably should have insisted on the written invitation Dean had offered. Given Sam’s history with angelic possession, he would most likely not believe him that his brother had simply allowed him to possess him. Castiel hardly believed it himself and he had been there when Dean had said ‘yes’ to him.

Sam had put his laptop down on the nightstand next to Jimmy’s body and was now holding a hand close to its face. “He isn’t breathing, Dean!” he stated, a panicked tone to his voice.

Thinking of something Dean would say in a situation like this, all Castiel came up with was, “Bitch.”

“What?!” Sam asked, turning around to glare at him. That had obviously been the wrong thing to say in this context.

“Son of a bitch?” Castiel corrected himself, but Sam didn’t pay him any mind. For some mysterious reason he thought it was a good idea to get onto the bed, straddle Jimmy’s body and press his hands down rhythmically on the vessel’s chest.

“You do realize that there is no human inhabiting that vessel anymore and that what you are doing would have no effect whatsoever on an angel?” Castiel asked, which made Sam stop dead in his tracks and look up at him sharply.

“Cas?” he asked, his hands now lying still on the vessel’s chest.

“I did not trick him,” Castiel hurried to reassure Sam.

“Seriously. What is going on?” Sam looked from Castiel to Jimmy’s body underneath him and back.

“Maybe you should hear Dean say it. You will believe him,” Castiel decided and sat Dean down on the chair so that he wouldn’t fall over when he regained control of his body.

“I didn’t say I didn’t believe…” Castiel heard Sam’s voice through Dean’s ears, but the next second he had traveled back to Jimmy’s body and Sam’s voice was much closer when he said, “…you.”

When Castiel opened his own eyes and looked down at the hand he now felt pressing lightly on his chest, Sam scrambled off the bed, and Castiel could sit up.

“Whoa,” Dean said and got up off the chair. “That was quick.” Then he saw Sam and added, “Sammy? What are you doing here?”

“He does not believe me that you allowed me to use you as a vessel,” Castiel prompted, which made Dean glare at Sam. That had not been Castiel’s intention. He had simply wanted Dean to corroborate what he had told Sam so that Sam would not be angry with him.

“I never said that!” Sam objected, sounding, in fact, a bit angry.

Dean, who apparently decided that it did not matter if Sam believed Castiel or not, turned back to Castiel and asked, “So, did it work? Were you able to heal your vessel?”

Instead of answering, Castiel insisted, “You should really tell him that I did not trick you.”

“I don’t think you tricked him,” Sam said, exasperated. “Wait, what does he mean, could you heal your vessel? What’s wrong with your vessel?”

Since Sam did not seem angry with him anymore, Castiel explained, “I thought there was something wrong with my vessel, but it followed me into Dean’s body, too. So I assume there must be something wrong with my grace instead. – I am sorry, Dean, that you lent me your vessel in vain.”

“Yeah, it was a real hardship,” Dean said and for some reason rolled his eyes. Castiel tilted his head at him because his words and his tone of voice did not match.

Before he could apologize again, Sam asked, “How do you even know that something is wrong?”

“Something feels… strange,” Castiel replied. “At first I thought it was an injury my vessel has obtained in the last fight, but I can’t heal it.”

“What feels strange?” Sam asked at the same time as Dean asked, “Where does it feel strange?”

“Somewhere…” Castiel pointed at his vessel’s chest. “…in this area.” After a pause of contemplation, he added, “But on the inside. I have already eliminated internal bleeding as a reason. Of course, humans can get heart arrhythmia, so that’s what I thought of next, but as I said, it does not seem to be anything I can heal and I should be able to heal heart arrhythmia.”

“In your chest but on the inside,” Sam repeated, mumbling to himself. Then he turned to Castiel. “Cas, when does this – this heart arrhythmia feeling occur?”

“There seems to be no pattern to it, I already tried to analyze it. It can be during the day or at night. I can be alone or together with you. I can lie in bed or walk around…”

“He means what were you thinking about?” Dean clarified. The Winchester brothers seemed to know something that he didn’t. Castiel hoped they were on the right track so that they could help him heal this affliction.

He thought back to when it had first happened. They had been watching a movie in the Dean Cave and he had felt very comfortable actually… Of course, he had been utterly unprepared for the fluttering sensation behind his vessel’s chest when Dean had nudged him to make him aware of something that was going on in the movie.

“About my old garrison.” About how he was the only one left.

“Oh.” Dean looked… disappointed? Apparently, that had not been the answer he had been expecting. Nevertheless, he came up with a diagnosis. “Okay. Maybe you’re homesick, then.”

Castiel frowned at Dean. How could he feel homesick? He was right here. “No. That is not it,” he stated.

“How can you know?” Sam pressed. “You were thinking about your garrison and…”

“Not about missing it,” Castiel interrupted him. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

Both Sam and Dean’s eyebrows shot up at that, so Castiel continued, “I was thinking about how _you_ are my garrison now.”

Dean snorted a laugh, which made Castiel lower his eyes. He should have realized that the thought had been presumptuous of him. He should not have voiced it out loud.

“I hate to break it to you, pal,” Dean said, “but you’re a bit behind with that epiphany.” When Castiel squinted at him, trying to decipher what that meant, he added, “What? I’ve told you about a dozen times that you’re our family. You’re only _now_ realizing this?”

Oh. Right. “No. I have realized before… just … you…” The human language was so restricting. Sometimes, he wanted to say so much, but what came out of his vessel’s mouth was flustered stammering that made Dean grin even brighter.

It was Sam who took pity on him and explained Dean’s amusement, “There’s nothing wrong with your vessel and there’s nothing wrong with your grace, either. You’re just… happy, I guess. Feelings of love and belonging can sometimes feel like heart arrhythmia.”

 _Feelings of love and belonging?_ Oh. _Oh._ That’s what it was.

“I can’t believe that you thought that there was something wrong with your vessel, man.” Dean shook his head, the smile on his face so bright his eyes crinkled.

“Maybe I should check for internal bleeding, just to be sure?” Sam added with a smirk.

“Yeah, I hear happiness gets easily confused with vessel or grace problems.”

Teasing. They were teasing him. Like they did with each other from time to time. Because he was part of their garrison and belonged with them now. And there was that pull behind his chest again. Now that he knew it did not stem from some illness, he could enjoy it for the pleasant feeling that it was. All warm and tingly inside his vessel’s chest.

“Yeah, well, _you_ would know,” Sam said, turning on Dean. “You jumped at the chance to let him use you as a vessel after you swore up and down that you’d never say ‘yes’ to an angel again.”

“An _angel_ ,” Dean repeated. “Not Cas.”

“You do realize that Cas is an angel, right?”

“You do realize that you’re a bitch, right?”

And there they went, going from teasing Castiel to teasing each other without missing a beat.

“Jerk.”

Since he wanted to tell them how grateful he was to belong to their garrison now, Castiel decided to use their language and joined their affectionate name-calling with, “Assbutt.”

Dean and Sam stopped in their insults and turned around to him. Then they looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Don’t ever change,” Dean told him through huffs of laughter. He’d told him that once before and just like last time, Castiel felt the warm tingling inside his chest intensify at the words. Even he understood that that was human code for ‘I like you just the way you are.’

Wanting to express that the feeling was mutual, Castiel launched himself at Dean and Sam to draw them into a hug. A hug was a human acceptable form of touching to express your gratitude and was a good way to tell humans you loved them without saying the words out loud.

He must have startled them because they stopped laughing abruptly. Dean mumbled something like, “Uhm… Hey. Okay. Yeah.” and Castiel mused about the fact that it was just like humans to be embarrassed without a reason. But then both Sam _and_ Dean returned the hug and Castiel felt his vessel’s heart do some unexplainable things again. Not because there was something wrong with it, but because he was finally feeling like he belonged.

“We love you, too, buddy,” he thought he heard Dean mumble into his shoulder. In reaction, Castiel clung to them just a little bit tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, any kind of feedback is highly appreciated.


End file.
